The instant invention deals with a new and improved method and apparatus or system for automation of serial marking or stamping of elongated members, or more particularly nuclear fuel end plugs, which plug the ends of nuclear fuel elements, rods or pins.
The security of these nuclear fuel elements, rods, or pins or portions thereof including the end plugs depends in part upon effective accountability procedures for keeping track of each such component. Accordingly, each element or component is numbered or identified with a unique sequential or serial character or string or combination of characters. The numbering or identification may be done by stamping or marking the characterization on the metal surface of the element. A convenient location for stamping or marking is the curved outer surface of the end plug portion of the fuel element.
The stamp or mark thus imprinted on the end plug may be readible or it may be somewhat difficult to read or decipher. Accordingly, the mark must be identified and the quality or sufficiency of the mark must be ascertained by inspection and poorly marked end plugs are discarded. To avoid a break or gap in the number or character sequence uniquely identifying each end plug, the marking device is only advanced or incremented to a next sequential character when an acceptably marked end plug has been produced.
An example of a device that is capable of reading or inspecting the quality of marks or characters on fuel rod end plugs is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 307,541 filed on Oct. 1, 1981, and involving inventors W. Masaitis et al. and assigned to General Electric Company.
The kinds of fuel elements, rods, or pins of interest herein are generally described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,382,153; 3,349,004; and 3,741,868 (each of them assigned to General Electric Company). Essentially, a nuclear fuel element has a hollow space which can be filled with fissile fuel such as enriched UO.sub.2. The element is tubelike and plugged with end plugs at each of its ends. The elements are typically bundled in nuclear reactors and such bundles comprise the core of a nuclear reactor. Further information about nuclear reactors may be found in Nuclear Power Engineering by M. M. El-Wakil, published by McGraw-Hill Book Company in 1962.